


a wealth of friends

by Kateomega97



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Male-Female Friendship, Post-Season/Series 02, Protective Cara Dune, good friend cara dune, i miss the razor crest, mask off :(, musings on din's religion, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28410948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kateomega97/pseuds/Kateomega97
Summary: Din feels as though he's lost everything. Cara's not so sure.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 70





	a wealth of friends

Din puts the helmet back on the moment Luke vanishes.

The only words he says are to Boba. "Take me to Nevarro." 

Boba nods. Din's voice is hoarse. 

Cara can't help but feel she's done something wrong, that they all have. She's disappointed in herself for not looking away. It's not her Creed to take, but if it were her, she'd want them to have looked away. 

Bo Katan seems to have no such reservations, and while Cara admires her willpower, she's growing increasingly annoyed with the blue Mando. The sound of her boots beating tracks into the Slave's deck is unbelievably irritating, and her whispering to her lackey is like nails on a chalkboard. 

Din is silently grieving, head bent almost between his knees where he sits, and Cara wishes Katan would shut up and respect the quiet. 

When they land, Cara steps off with Din, and is even more irritated to see Katan step off too. 

"I can't let you out of my sight with the saber," Katan says harshly. "We haven't decided what to do with it yet."

Din says nothing. He doesn't even look at her, just starts off towards one of the many Covert entrances. 

When they reach the tunnels, Cara stops Katan. 

She glares at Cara.

"You're not going in." Cara says. "That's not your place."

"Oh, and it's yours?" Katan growls back. 

"No." Cara says. "It's not for either of us. We'll wait here. Din, give the saber to Katan. She'll hold it for you." 

Din passes it over. 

Katan's glare deepens. "You have to come back for this. You can't just hand it off to me, that's not how it works." 

Din remains silent. He turns, and his cloak ripples as he descends into the long emptied tunnels. 

They wait for what feels like hours. Cara sits calmly and muses about the Jedi. She'd known they were real, but she's never actually met one before. Skywalker was the hero of the rebellion, even if she didn't really buy into all the bullshit true fanatics believed about them. Now, she's seen what a Jedi can do, and she can kind of understand the faith that some rebellion members had. 

He took Din's kid, though. That seems wrong. 

Finally Din returns. He stalks past them, and heads into town. Katan and her second leap up and follow him. When he gets into the market he seems a little lost for a minute. 

"We can stay at mine, until we can get a ship, if you'd like," Cara offers casually. Din nods. She leads them to her small home. 

Once they get there, she turns to Katan. "Put the saber on the table. The guest room in the back can be yours. I don't care what you do from there, but don't make trouble, or I'll kick you out."

Katan reluctantly places the saber on the kitchen table. Then she turns to Din. 

"This hasn't truly belonged to a Mandolorian for a very long time. You're going to have to figure out what to do, you know. You outrank all of us, and I don't think your clan is going to be too happy to know you broke your Creed. Not a great start. Of course, you're always welcome to leave those cultists behind and join our clan-" 

Din makes a small noise and leans heavily on the table. Cara's furious, suddenly. "Go. Away." She growls, menacing at Katan. "Entertain yourself somewhere." 

Katan turns on her heel and walks out the door. Din is practically shuddering in the silence after the door slams. Cara has nothing to say, and she lets it linger for a moment. 

"God-- damnit!" He screams, ripping his helmet from his head and slamming it into the floor. Cara immediately turns around, but not before she sees the dent it leaves, wincing. She can hear him crashing things to the ground, probably beskar, if she had her bet. There's a splintering sound as he destroys one of her wooden chairs. Shit. Those were expensive. Wood's almost impossible to get on Nevarro. But she faces the wall and says nothing. 

Slowly the sound of destruction fades, and all that's left is the sound of his shuddering breath. From the corner of her eye she can see one of his gloved hands flat on the ground. She backs up until her calves bump against his beskar backplate, and she slides down to sit back to back with him. She can feel him heaving air out, and he's shaking where he sits.

"I know what the Creed says. I shouldn't be permitted to wear any of this anymore. I'm not a Mandolorian. I was supposed to melt it down to bricks for the Foundlings as my last act."

She stays silent. 

"And I couldn't fucking do it. All I could think was, 'what if he needs me someday?' and I walked out with it. I'm a thief, now, on top of everything else." 

"You can't steal something that already belongs to you," she says. 

"Under the Creed, it doesn't belong to me." 

"Make your own Creed," she says. "Katan seems to have no problem with that." 

"Katan's Creed is not the Way." 

"I didn't say follow Katan's Creed. I said make your own. All these rules don't seem to be doing anyone any favors. Katan can't claim the throne. You can't let your child touch your face before he leaves. You know, the Jedi weren't allowed families, before the Empire? That's what they say turned Vader to the dark- he had no choice but to hide his family. More rules. It's all bullshit."

"It's the Way." Din hisses. 

"It's bullshit," she repeats. "Wear the helmet if it makes you happy. You don't have to take it off, like Katan does. But you don't have to leave it on forever, either."

"I'll be alone," Din says. "No clan will take me if I'm in between." 

"You're not even alone right now. I'm not your clan, but I am your friend. And your kid is clan, even if he's far away. That's how clan works, right?" 

He snorts. "A clan of two, and a couple friends." 

"Better than none." She replies. "Some people don't get so lucky, you know." 

He pauses. "I broke your chairs." 

She winces. "It's fine. I can dig up some more." 

"Thanks," he says, hushed. 

"What are friends for," she says, half sarcastic. 

She can feel the cold beskar of his helmet slide on against her neck, and she stands up and turns to see him fully masked. She offers him a hand and hauls him up from the wreckage of her floor. 

"Let's see what kind of ships we can find for you." She brushes off one of his pauldrons, and he nods. 

He takes the saber from the table and hooks it to his belt. Then he follows her through the door.

**Author's Note:**

> some notes:  
> -i know bo-katan has an actual last name but i feel like cara wouldn't so i left it as is lol  
> -din needs a hug big time  
> -i feel like cara is respectful of mandolorian culture but not very understanding. She left the New Republic for a reason, yall- all these rules just seem to be causing Din more trouble, not less


End file.
